School district to hold classes on Memorial Day

Several school districts in our area took weather days with the ice storm we had last month. Now, they're looking to make that day up. But some aren't happy with that decision.

And it's all over the day that was chosen. Spring ISD's make-up day is set in May. But that decision is irritating some veterans.

We all remember the day an ice storm made traveling our roadways treacherous and difficult -- it was February 4, a Friday.

And now all of the school districts that closed that day have to make it up.

Spring ISD is choosing Monday, May 30, which you may know is Memorial Day, and not everyone likes that idea.

Since 1868, Memorial Day has been a time for the nation to pay respect to its fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines -- honoring the sacrifice made by those men, women, and their families.

Nobody knows it better than Tom Mitchell.

"It's a sacred time for me. I am a Vietnam vet," Mitchell said.

He runs the U.S. Veterans office in Houston, an organization that provides housing, jobs, clothing, and other resources for thousands of veterans in need.

He says he is disappointed that Spring ISD would choose Memorial Day as a makeup day for bad weather.

But he believes it is a sign of a much bigger issue.

"While I see a lot of people waving flags, I also see a lot of things eroding," Mitchell said. "I don't think they really comprehend the sacrifices that veterans are making."

He's not alone in his disappointment. Jeffrey Bobo is also a veteran.

"It's showing disrespect to the veterans that served their country. It's showing a lack of respect," Bobo said.

A Spring ISD spokesperson told us that a lot of thought and public input goes into the selection of makeup days.

And it posted more than a year ago on its website that the 2010-2011 instructional calendar includes two inclement weather days, January 4 and May 30, as days that would be used for making up lost school days if needed.

The district did not want to answer questions on camera.

Mitchell thinks veterans deserve better.

"I think we're regressing and we're forgetting our history," he said.

HISD originally set its makeup day for May 30, but Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier asked the board to change the date to Friday, June 3, which they did.